


And District 13

by penoftruthiness



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hunger Games AU, Hurt/Comfort, I AM NOT ABOUT THAT WORRY NOT, M/M, Multi, No Major Character Death, OT3 feelings but also entire team feelings, Polyamory, Seriously nobody you care about dies, They all meet under different circumstances but they love each other just the same, Will update the tags as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2018-10-14 08:23:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10532613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penoftruthiness/pseuds/penoftruthiness
Summary: Jake and Cassandra are from the same district. They've only teamed up to make sure they aren't the first to die. So when a cocky young thief tries to steal their supplies, why isn't Jake trying to kill him?(A Hunger Games AU)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This AU idea would not leave me alone. 
> 
> If I end up writing out any graphic violence (I'm not planning on it, but it is the Hunger Games), I'll put a warning before the chapter it takes place in. Hope you enjoy!

Jake can pinpoint the exact moment that he started to panic.

Looking back on it, it was kind of odd that he wasn’t panicked to begin with. The District had lined up all the citizens of his town, divided by age.

There weren’t a large number of people in Urbana compared to the surrounding cities. The Capitol regulated the movement of people between locations very carefully, so Jake had only been to Chicago once. The largest city in the District as well as the most important, Chicago’s size had overwhelmed him. He had only been able to come along on the trip because his father had gotten an important assignment – a duty to pass a message along personally. Jake didn’t know why someone would need to be that secretive unless they were breaking Capitol rules. He figured he better not ask and spent the majority of the trip looking out of the window of the train.

Train tracks crossed most of District 6, connecting the various settlements as well as the other eleven districts. Everyone in Jake’s family worked in the transportation of goods and people between districts, and Jake would, too. The trip to Chicago made him hope that he would one day be chosen to actually ride on the trains between cities. Maybe a baggage handler or train engineer.

All of those hopes were dashed, now, of course. He was standing on a stage; cameras aimed straight at him, while the stares of his fellow citizens in Urbana bore into him like a drill.

The main event was happening up in Chicago and being broadcast here. The District didn’t have enough money to move the thousands of people that lived across District 6 to one location, considering it was one of the larger Districts with more disparate populations. People would gather in smaller cities, like Urbana, to watch the main event. If someone from that location had name called, they stood on the smaller stage in their hometown, while their face (terrified, crying) was broadcast in Chicago and across the District.

Jake was trying not to look like he was terrified or crying.

The one positive part of this whole process, he morbidly told himself, was that being from an outlying city meant that at least he wasn’t standing next to the Capitol “celebrity representatives” (no one in District 6 could tell you anything about the colorful array of people waltzing into Chicago every year to perform the Reaping, but they always made quite a big deal of it on the broadcast). The only people guarding him were silent and impassive Peacekeepers, which made the entire thing feel a little less personal.

Jake had known that he had a higher chance of being picked this year than he felt comfortable with. His father had lost his job a few years back, and besides having to deal with the repercussions of an angry, bitter man at home all day, Jake also had to help care for his family. His mother was sick, so Jake had taken out several Tesserae over the last few years. Still, an extra six slips in the pot shouldn’t have made this big a difference. Not when he was so close to escaping into adulthood.

The rest of Urbana watched him silently as the ceremony continued. His parents weren’t with them. They were both still at home, and Jake remembered that this morning, he had been worried that leaving them alone for several hours might be dangerous.

Now he was significantly more concerned.

A red headed girl from the city was chosen to be the female Tribute. She was small, awkward, and scared, and Jake kind of hated himself for immediately thinking that he could probably take her.

After the ceremony finally, finally concluded (and the celebrity of the year had finished his twenty minute speech on his new movie, which nobody watching would ever see), Jake waved over one of his friends from school.

“Look, man, can you go get my parents? They’re probably not watching.” Jake was being dragged away by Peacekeepers before he even finished the first sentence, but his friend was running off in the direction of Jake’s home, so he hoped that his parents would receive the message.

Everything in his life was about to end, so maybe he could try to set up some stability for two people whose marriage and life was falling apart. Even as he was thinking about it, the idea overwhelmed him, so he decided to settle for saying goodbye.

 

As it turned out, only his mom showed up. Jake couldn’t bring himself to be surprised, but he did find his rage boiling over.

“Really? The last time he will ever get to see me, and he just wants to sit on the couch? Did he already have beer out?”

Jake and his mom were sitting side-by-side on the nicest couch had ever seen in his life, which was in the town hall. That was where the chosen Tribute was apparently supposed to wait.

“Your father does love you. You know that, right?” His mom turned to him with tears in her eyes, and Jake knew that he had to lie to her. It didn’t matter, anyway.

“Sure, mom.”

“Besides,” she continued, “you might come back, after all.”

Jake just barely stopped himself from barking out a bitter laugh. Even though her words sounded hopeful, the look on his mother’s face was anything but, and he knew that she was just trying to comfort the both of them. District 6 didn’t win the Games often (not since he had been too small to be a potential tribute), and Jake with his complete lack of skills with survival and weaponry was not a strong contender.

At least he had received some training in hand-to-hand combat from his father. That was his last, bitter thought before the Peacekeepers escorted his mother out of the room.

 

The connection between Urbana and Chicago was on a lower-speed and older type of rail system. The trip was still fairly short, because the cities were so close. Jake was one of the only passengers on the train, the others being the Peacekeepers who escorted him on and two businessmen on their way to the city. The businessmen had sequestered themselves away in the front cabin. They didn’t want to see Jake anymore than he wanted to see them.

He spent the first part of the trip looking out the window. Every time he saw another line split off from the main road into the city, he had to clench his hands tightly to quiet the insistent thoughts of ‘this is the last time you will see that rail, the last time you’ll see any rails…’

“Hey.” A female voice said, bringing Jake out of his thoughts.

He looked up to find a blonde woman, leaning in the doorway like she was waiting for permission to enter. Which was ridiculous, of course. It was a public train, and she could go wherever she wanted. She was wearing nicer clothes than he was used to, all brown. She looked vaguely familiar, but Jake couldn’t quite place it.

“Hello, ma’am.” Jake said, because despite all his parents’ faults, they had raised him to be polite.

The woman smiled at him, sadly. It reminded him of the smile his mother had when she came to visit after the Reaping, and he hated it. “I’m going to be your Mentor.”

That flipped a switch inside Jake’s brain, and suddenly he knew exactly why he recognized her. The broadcasts had gone on for weeks ten years ago, the last time District 6 had won the games. They had an actual hometown hero (not from any hometown near Jake, obviously, or he would probably have recognized her sooner). Eve Baird, winner of the 64th Hunger Games. She won with a combination of strength and military-esque teamwork with her early ally, a boy from District 9 named Moriarty. He was tragically killed when the Games had dwindled to four participants, murdered by the other alliance that remained. Eve went on a roaring rampage of revenge to end the games. It was one of the more exciting ends that the Games had in recent years.

Remembering himself, Jake responded. “Of course. Jake Stone.” He stood up and held out his hand.

Eve seemed to take a certain measure of comfort in this. She had more of an idea what to do with an outstretched hand than a boy who had just been sentenced to death. Their hands shook, a surprisingly firm handshake under the circumstances. “Yes, I was watching the broadcast. As soon as they picked somebody down here, they stuck me on a train to greet you. I guess they didn’t want you to be alone for the ride up.”

Jake nodded. “Will you be the mentor for me and…the other girl?” He should probably learn her name at some point, but everything after the Reaping had been so hectic that he forgot to ask.

“Cassandra Cillian.” Eve provided helpfully. “There is another Victor from District 6 who was asked to help out, but he’s…” She pulled a face. “Not great at being a Mentor. He’s 82 now, so he’s not great at anything, really.”

Jake couldn’t imagine someone living to be that old. The oldest person he’d ever met had been 63, and the man died later that same year. But he supposed anything could happen in Chicago. And especially if you were a victor.

She smiled at him again, a lot more comfortable this time but still with a tinge of sadness. “You guys will meet when we change trains. Luckily it’s not that far a ride to the Capitol.”

Jake had almost forgotten about the training, the testing, and the presentation of the Tributes. This was going to be a long couple of days, and Jake found himself hoping that the redhead…Cassandra, would be nice. It would be great to have somebody to talk to, at least, before they were both sent to their death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Ezekiel (or even Cassandra) in this chapter, sadly, but they'll show up, don't you worry. 
> 
> I'm still in the process of writing, so I don't want to promise quick updates or anything. But I'm really really excited about this idea, so you'll be seeing something soon! In the meantime, come talk to me on [tumblr](http://conversationslikeminefields.tumblr.com/).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake travels to the Capitol and meets Cassandra.

Chicago was bigger than Jake remembered. He wondered, while waiting for the train to pull into the station, whether they’d built up the city more since the last time he was here. It was the only place he'd ever been where he could imagine new buildings being constructed. 

“We’re gonna have to take you around the back way.” Eve said, almost like she was talking to herself. She was looking out the window at something in the distance. 

Jake leaned forward to look through the window as well. He saw a lot of movement and colors. It looked almost like...a mob of people?

“The other tribute is waiting on the train to the Capitol, but we can’t take you through that.”

Jake could just make out a line of peacekeepers standing in front of what must have been hundreds of people. “What are they doing?”

“They’re waiting for you.” If this line had been coming from a citizen of the Capitol, it would have sounded like this was an exciting notion. Wasn’t it great being treated like a celebrity? Jake was glad that Eve seemed to be on the same page he was. Why pay this much attention to a tragedy? 

Jake decided to change the subject. “What city are you from again?” 

“Ames. Well, right outside of it.” Eve said. Jake nodded, glad that he at least had a point of reference for where his mentor grew up. That meant that she was from outside Chicago, too. She must have gone through this exact ordeal ten years ago. Was there a mob then, too?

A peacekeeper shoved the door open. “We have a route cleared, ma’am.”

Eve sat up. “Well, that’s our cue. Ready?” She smiled at Jake, and with the way she asked, he felt for a moment that if he said ‘no’, they could wait for him to catch his breath.

But the Peacekeeper was staring at them as insistently as he could with a shield over his face, so they had to go. Jake appreciated the small comfort that Eve had offered him anyway.

They disembarked through the rear car and were quickly joined by three other Peacekeepers. The four formed a square around them. Jake supposed it was for protection, so the mob couldn’t reach them. But he knew that he was trapped as well. 

They walked through a series of alleys, places Jake’s father would have told him to stay out of. Their steps echoed as they walked, the streets eerily silent. Shadows covered the ground in every alley they passed. Then, Jake saw the shadows start to move.

Wait. Those weren't shadows, he realized. Human bodies, masses of limbs, moved through the darkness. They were cowering away from the Peacekeepers, and soon Jake saw why. One boy, maybe 11 years old, was huddled in the middle of the walkway, and the Peacekeeper on Jake’s left aimed a kick into the boy’s side. Hard. A pained sound emerged from the crumpled figure,  and the boy slowly crawled out of the way. Jake heard the Peacekeeper chuckling as they moved past. Eve scowled next to him, but said nothing. The long walk through Chicago’s back streets continued through the evening sun.

It was nearing dark by the time they reached the main terminal. For the first time, Jake could see the enormity of the crowd that was waiting for them. Waiting for him.

There were hundreds of them, spread throughout the road and around the building. A path had been cleared by Peacekeepers. Jake  had never seen this many Peacekeepers in one place. As they approached, the crowd slowly started to notice them. A clamor rose up. Suddenly, the crowd was moving, shoving against the line of Peacekeepers, and their group started moving double speed. 

Eve must have noticed that Jake was starting to panic, because she decided to start talking to him. “This is Union Station. It leads to the Captiol, and has trains to all the other Districts. You guys are lucky. Since we’re a transportation hub, it’s a straight ride from here to the Captiol.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake watched one woman get clubbed by a Peacekeeper and tried to feel lucky.

 

The inside of the station is calm. All of the citizens must have been kept outside, because they were the only ones present besides a few Peacekeepers next to the doors. The station itself, though, was beautiful. The roof had a hatched pattern of beams. Between the beams, the building was open to the sky. If rain had been falling at that moment, Jake could have felt it on his face. 

Of course, it wasn’t raining that day, and Jake had no time to stand around and admire the old station. Their group headed down the stairs to one of the rail stations. The train, of course, was the nicest model that the District ran. It would have to be, in order to run directly to the Capitol.

“How many people ride this train?” Jake asked, now that his heart rate had calmed down. If he ignored the Peacekeepers escorting he and Eve through the place, he could almost feel like this was just a normal day. Sightseeing in the city with a local celebrity.

“Pretty much everybody from the Capitol that’s visiting the Districts rides on this train. It’s got a full service bar, after all.” Eve said this with such a heavy dose of sarcasm that Jake couldn’t help but laugh. “But today, it’s just you and Cassandra. You ready?”

Jake realized that they’d reached the entrance, and with one last look at the beautiful, ancient building, he climbed aboard.

 

Stepping onto the train was like stepping into an entirely different world. The carpet was crimson and clean, and Jake couldn’t decide which of those surprised him more. There were gold inscriptions along the floor and the walls. The doors were intricately carved, and the light fixtures were ornate chandeliers. Paintings hung every few feet along the wall, and Jake found himself drawn to them most of all. After they had stepped on board, the Peacekeepers had left them alone, so he finally felt free to explore. And gape. Some of the paintings were lifelike, some more abstract. Some he could see where the brush had left ravines of paint across the campus, sweeping together to create something entirely new. Every time he moved to a different painting, something new about the compositions struck him.

Jake turned to Eve, wanting to show her how this artist had captured a woman’s smile, but she was standing down the hall, leaning against the wall. She looked...bored.

Of course she would be bored. She’d seen this train before, and probably several others like it. This was her entire life now. She was just waiting to get to the next part of this horror show.

He looked around again. The train, although it was still the nicest place Jake had ever seen, had lost some of its lustre. 

Eve looked up at him. “You ready to go, kid?” It was clear from her tone that she would let him have as long as he wanted, but nothing in here seemed as exciting as it did moments ago.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

 

Cassandra Cillian was the picture of unassuming. The exact opposite of a fighter, she was sitting on a couch far too large for her small frame. Her legs were crossed, her hands were folded together, and everything about her body language screamed “please don’t look at me”. 

After the day he was sure she had, Jake could understand why. She was pretty. He wondered if he would have noticed if she hadn’t been his fellow Tribute, since she seemed to be trying to bury herself in the couch. Her Mentor, the other living Victor from District 6, was sitting in a chair across from her...asleep.

Cassandra smiled at the two of them. “Hello.” Her voice was high, lilting. That’s when Jake realized that not only was his fellow Tribute pretty, she was also  _ adorable _ .

This was going to go very badly.

“Cassandra, hi again. I see he fell asleep.” Eve rolled her eyes again. “Jake, this is Cassandra. The guy asleep over there is Walter. He sleeps a lot, don’t worry about it too much.”

Jake looked at the old man, who was snoring lightly. “He mentored you?”

Eve nodded. “He wasn’t much help, obviously. Ok, now that I have the two of you together, let’s talk business.”

Eve took the other chair in the room, and Jake sat next to Cassandra on the (incredibly plushy) couch. Eve leaned in towards them, her face as serious as he’d seen it in the last few hours. 

“So, technically I’m supposed to be Cassandra’s mentor and Walter’s supposed to be Jake’s.”

“Wait, really?” Jake turned to look at Walter. The man seemed like the worst possible mentor for a physical competition, as frail as he was.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be mentoring both of you. I’m not going to leave you with someone who can’t even stay awake for an hour.” As if to punctuate her point, Walter let out a loud snore. “So, I’ll be training both of you, if that works?” She looked up at both of them.

Jake and Cassandra both nodded silently. Jake was impressed that Cassandra would give up an advantage like that so easily. But she was smiling at him and Eve, so apparently she wasn’t too attached to having separate Mentors in the first place. 

“Alright. I’ll give you some advice about which of the training stations I’d recommend. They keep saying that they’ll change the stations available, but they haven’t in the last nine years, so I’m not worried.” 

She glossed over the other training sessions so quickly, it was almost easy for Jake to forget that they were her tenth group of Tributes. The tenth pair of children she had to train and then watch die. 

Jake suddenly understood why Walter was asleep. 

“I’m also going to be taking you guys aside during the night for some extra training of my own. I’m gonna do my best to make sure you’re not tired going into the arena, but there’s several things I’ve seen every year that I think you guys should be prepared for.” Eve smiled again, small and tight. “Any questions?”

Jake shook his head, feeling like he’d suddenly joined the military. Cassandra was mirroring him.

“Alright. I’m going to head to the conductor’s cabin. I want to figure out when we’ll be getting in. The fun today with the crowd made us later than we should have been.” 

“Wait, so that doesn’t happen every year? What was so special about us, then?” Jake found himself asking before he even thought about it.

Eve shot him a quizzical look. “Most years District 6 doesn’t have a volunteer.”

“Wait, but I didn’t…” Jake turned to stare at Cassandra, who was suddenly very interested in the carpet. 

“Ok, I’m off. You two going to be okay?” Eve looked to the both of them, which was crazy. This train ride was hardly going to be the worst part of the next few days.

“Yes, Ms. Baird.” Cassandra offered, her voice even smaller than before. 

With that, Eve was off, and Jake was left with the snoring Walter and Cassandra. His fellow tribute was playing with her hands nervously, and he felt compelled to break the silence before it got too awkward.

“I realize I never actually introduced myself. Jacob Stone.” He held out a hand to her, an offering of peace. He didn’t want to be enemies, especially if they were going to be training together. Some part of him was asking ‘what is the polite way to greet someone you’re going to die with?’, but he tried to drown it out.

“Cassandra, nice to meet you.” She smiled at him, and then- “Do you like toast?”

“What?” That was not a question he had been expecting to hear from her today, or really from anyone.

“Toast. Bread that you put in a toaster. But in the past, or it’s not toast yet.”

“Yeah, I know what toast is, but what…”

“They have a bunch of jam in the breakfast car. Dinner car? Food car, if we’re considering food that’s non-temporal.”

Jake just stared, bewildered. 

“I’ve always wanted to try blueberry. We never had that at my house. You’re from Urbana, right? Do you have blueberries down there?”

Jake blinked, slowly. “I don’t...think so.”

She beamed at him. “Want to try it?”

 

After they’d made their way to the breakfast-dinner car (through two seating cabins and something that Cassandra called a “lounge car”), Jake had to admit that Cassandra had the right idea. This jam was the most delicious way he’d ever eaten fruit in his life. They ate well most of the time at his house (before his dad lost his job, anyway), but this stuff had to be fresh.

“How’d you know they had jam?” He asked, between mouthfuls of raspberry on some type of bread that had seeds in it. “Or any of this.” There was a giant spread of food out in front of them, and no one else to eat it but them. Jake and Cassandra had decided to indulge themselves.

“I’ve been on the train since right after the Reaping.” Cassandra said.

Jake raised his eyebrows. “You mean you’ve been here all day?”

Cassandra shrugged. “They didn’t want to keep me outside in the streets, and I think they were expecting you to arrive earlier.”

Jake realized that it must have taken at least two hours to cross the city via the back alleys. He felt bad, even though he logically knew none of this was either of their faults. Except…

“You volunteered?” He had to know. Had to understand. Understand why anyone would want any of this.

Except for the jam, of course, which was delicious.

“Yep, I did.” Neither her voice nor face betrayed any emotion about the decision, positive or negative. 

“But...why?”

She turned away from her second bread roll for a second to look him in the eye. “Why not?”

“Why  _ not?  _ I can’t believe anyone would ever  _ want _ to be in the Hunger Games, unless you’d been training your entire life, and I can’t imagine you know much about fighting.”

Cassandra frowned at that. “Well, now you’re just assuming things. Anyway, this train’s not too bad of a place to wait, right?”

Jake recognized a topic change when he heard one, but he decided to let this one go. Clearly she didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Wait, is that fried chicken?” He grinned as he reached for a plate on the back of the table. Cassandra giggled happily.

They almost forgot about what they were doing here, and why this food was even available to them. But the train hadn’t forgotten, and it rumbled on towards the Capitol around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody's favorite thief will be coming in soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezekiel makes great first impressions.

As soon as the Gamemakers opened the doors to the training hall, Jake headed directly to the survival station, Cassandra close behind. Eve had assured them that this would be one of the most useful stations (“provided, of course, that you survive the bloodbath”, which had not been a comforting thing to hear). 

The warm weather survival had been pretty obvious, but the attendant showed them how to make a layered jacket out of a sheet of cloth for cold weather, and Jake was fairly impressed.

Cassandra had given hers some decoration, drawing a flower with the marker (that was apparently supposed to be used to label gear, although Jake thought that their chances of having either gear or a marker in the arena were very low).

“Do you think this looks good?” Cassandra asked him, holding up her jacket. Jake nodded, ignoring the increasingly annoyed glare from the attendant.

Just then, some commotion across the room caught his eye. The careers at the knife throwing station suddenly seemed more upset than usual (which was saying something, since they all careened straight for the most violent station). 

 

“I swear, if you steal one more knife from me, I’m gonna put the next one through your gut.” A big, burly Tribute had the shirt of another Tribute curled in his fist. 

“You’d have to aim first.” The tall, muscled girl replied, seemingly unthreatened.

The bigger Tribute reeled back his other fist before they were both pulled apart by guards. An announcement came over the loudspeaker. 

“Tributes are reminded that there will be no violence in the training area or any other time before they enter the Arena.” 

The male Tribute struggled against the guard holding him back for a few more moments before he regained his composure and stalked off to the spear station. The female Tribute just smiled at his turned back.

Jake looked around the room, noticing that he and Cassandra weren’t the only ones who were distracted by the commotion. In fact, only one Tribute wasn’t gathered to watch. He was leaning against the wall next to the poisonous plant identification station. 

Suddenly, the other tribute turned to look at Jake. The tribute nodded in his direction, and then pulled something out of his pocket.

A knife. The other tribute twirled it in his hand a couple times, smiled at Jake, and put it back in his pocket. Just before Cassandra grabbed Jake’s arm to drag him to another station, the other Tribute caught his gaze and winked. 

 

There was a quick break for lunch, and it was back to the preening and showing off (at least, for the Careers. Everyone else kept out of the way as best as possible). Jake and Cassandra had decided they should at least do one weapons station, and so Jake was watching as Cassandra wielded a dagger like any sort of rich city kid would. Every time she went to stab the empty air, the dagger almost fell out of her hands. Jake had seen a couple of the other Tributes laughing out of the corner of his eye, which was making him grind his teeth until they hurt.

“You’re not gonna practice?” A voice said from behind him. The accent was weird, like nothing Jake had ever heard before. He turned around to find the Tribute who’d winked at him earlier. The kid had shaggy black hair and an easy smile, and Jake was utterly bewildered why he wanted to chat. 

“Uh...I was gonna go after her. We agreed to watch each other, try to give some advice.” This plan was ridiculous, of course, but the attendant had several other Tributes to instruct as well, so they were doing the best they could.

The other Tribute glanced at Cassandra, who had just tripped over her own foot. “Interesting strategy.”

Jake frowned. “Well, what exactly are you doing?”

The kid turned his gaze back on Jake, the relaxed smile reappearing. “Not fighting, that’s for sure. I mean, what would happen if I broke these hands, right?” He brought his hand up in front of his face, wiggling his fingers in Jake’s direction.

“I don’t get it. What would happen?” 

The kid took a step back, acting horrified. “I’m Ezekiel Jones! World class thief. If I can’t steal, what am I good for, huh?”

Jake couldn’t think of anything to do but raise an eyebrow and utter a bewildered “O-kay…”

Just then, Cassandra decided to rejoin them, having replaced her dagger. “So, how did I do? I know it’s my first time and all, but I think I was getting better towards the end there.” And then, Cassandra being her ever pleasant self, smiled broadly at both of them and said, “who’s this?”

“Ezekiel Jones, pleasure.” The guy said, tipping an imaginary hat before reaching out his hand to shake Cassandra’s. Jake all of a sudden got a strong urge to punch him. 

“Cassandra Cillian.” She did a little curtsy, turning Ezekiel’s handshake into a more regal affair. “What district are you from?”

“Three.” Ezekiel smiled broadly. Great, a patriotic Tribute. Just what they needed.

“Really? Electronics?” Jake found himself saying. This guy was far less...nerdy than their usual Tributes.

“Yeah, mate.” Ezekiel had a quizzical look on his face. “Not what you expected?” 

“I guess I was just expecting something more...thief-like…” Jake felt Cassandra elbow him in the ribs,  _ hard _ . 

Ezekiel just smiled again, looking somehow even more cocky. “I am Ezekiel Jones. World class thief. Famous across all of District 3, and soon, the rest of the nation.”

Jake couldn’t think of anything he could possibly say to that. Famous? To treat this whole thing like a popularity contest, especially over something so  _ ridiculous... _

Cassandra, of course, is unphased by Jake’s wariness. “How does one become a world class thief?” 

“Steal. A lot. Turns out there’s lots of stuff to steal in a District structured around electronics manufacturing.” Ezekiel looked damn proud of himself for breaking the law, and probably, Jake thought, stealing the livelihood of some of the fellow members of his District. He can’t help feeling a little sick to his stomach.

Just as the other Tribute opened his mouth to say something else, Jake coughed loudly. “Anyway, nice to meet you. You might want to put that knife back sometime today. I know they search us before we can head back to our rooms.”

“Good tip!” Ezekiel saluted them both, turning on his heel to leave. “Have a good training day!” 

And he went off, casually sauntering across the room like he wasn’t even going to consider training. The absolute dick.

“We need allies, you know.” Cassandra said from his side.

“Hey, you’ve got me, right? We’ll be the greatest allies this game has ever seen.”

“At least, if we don’t die first.”

Jake snorted. And then Cassandra giggled. And suddenly they broke out into a fit of laughter, standing in the middle of the training room. For a moment, the rest of the world melted away. The Training Center didn’t exist. The Capitol was gone. The Games were merely a mother’s one-time nightmare. 

But somebody called time, and the world was suddenly thrown back into motion. And so, of course, were Jake and Cassandra.

 

“So, my time in the Games was ten years ago. Do either of you remember watching it?” 

“Yep!” Said Cassandra brightly. Jake was starting to get the impression that Cassandra spent a lot of  time watching TV growing up, which explained a lot of things about her. 

“We didn’t have a TV then.” This was true. The only reason Jake knew anything about Eve’s Games was because of the aftermath. The District was so glad to finally have a Victor that almost nothing else was talked about for a month afterwards.

Eve nodded. “Well, I’ll be letting you in on something that was never on television.”

Cassandra clapped her hands, acting all too excited for their current situation. Eve had gathered them in the living room of the District 6 lodging for her “extra training”, whatever that was. They were both again seated on a plush, soft couch (apparently the only kind of seating available in the Capitol). Eve was in an armchair, looking ready to fight any moment. Jake hadn’t ever seen Eve not being serious, but this was her game face.

“Wait, I thought they filmed everything that happens during the Games?” Jake asked.

Eve gave a small nod. “Everything that they want to show. They always show every challenge, but they might not show every part of a challenge.”

Cassandra raised her hand, waiting for Eve to nod at her before she said anything. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would they do that?”

“There are parts they don’t want to show. Parts that are a little...weird.” 

Eve stopped to wait for their reaction. Jake and Cassandra glanced at each other, both seemingly confused. 

“...weird?” Jake said.

“You guys remember that blizzard that happened during my Games?” After they both nodded, Eve continued, “well that was both harder and easier than it looked on TV. Some of the boulders I was dodging came out of nowhere. I mean, the exact opposite direction of the cliffs. But then, there were times when I’d suddenly find a pocket of hot air. Those kept me alive.”

Jake and Cassandra both sat silently for a minute, trying to digest.

“That’s pretty odd, I guess. But couldn’t it just have happened naturally?” Jake found himself asking. “I mean, weather patterns do weird local things like that all the time.”

Eve held up a hand. “Ok. It doesn’t matter what you believe is causing it. But I wanted to tell you guys that there’s a way to know something’s going to happen. If you don’t feel anything off, then the world is normal. You only really have to worry about the other Tributes, or normal challenges. But if you feel the wind coming from two directions at once and smell the distinct scent of fudge, then the Game Makers are about to try to kill you.”

Cassandra nodded. “That makes sense.”

Jake turned to stare at her, slack-jawed. “Makes  _ sense? _ ” 

But Cassandra and Eve had already stood up, the conversation over from their perspective. Jake had some more questions, but Cassandra announced (gleefully) that it was almost time for dinner, so he decided that his skepticism could wait. 

 

Apparently, even at the Tribute dinner, there was still a reject table. 

Jake and Cassandra were sitting at the very end of one of the long tables that were set up in three rows. There were a few lone Tributes scattered along the rest of it, mostly the younger and weaker kids. One girl in particular had not stopped staring at her plate for the entire meal, even when Cassandra tried to ask for her name (all she got for her efforts was a very quiet “Cindy…”, before the girl started scarfing down food). The next table had the older kids, the Careers, and…

“Ezekiel Jones is a world-class thief. There’s nothing these hands can’t steal.”

“...Is this how he’s making allies?” Cassandra asked. Jake could only shake his head. Nothing about that kid made any sense. Even from over here he could see the wheels turning in the Career’s heads. They’d use Ezekiel and discard him at the first possible moment. 

He almost felt sorry for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how much of the "before the Games" stuff I'm gonna do. Originally this chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to cut it off here while I figure out what ridiculous costumes I could put them all into.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talents n a parade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the order of some of these events from how they are in the books but yknow quite honestly we’re here for the angst not the accuracy

“That’s a stupid talent.”

Jake saw Cassandra flinch and Eve frown, and felt a small twinge of regret somewhere in his gut. But it was  _ so stupid _ .

“Are you saying you can fight, then?” Eve challenged him, her voice sharp and clipped.

“No, of course not! No one from District 6 can fight.” Brawling on trains discouraged use by Capitol bureaucrats, apparently. 

“Well then.” Eve crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, looking  _ so damn smug. _ “I guess you’ll be doing maps, then.”

Jake sputtered. “And that would impress them how? I can doodle up a storm before I get stabbed.”

Beside him, Cassandra gasped. Eve was grimacing now. 

“Map making is an important skill. Getting the lay of the land can keep you alive. Trust me on this, okay? It’s the right decision.”

“Besides,” Cassandra added, sniffling, “at least you have something you can show them.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Jake said, his mind switching away from his problem for the time being, but feeling no less frustrated. “You’ve got that...brain thing.”

And she did. They had watched the bow and arrow section for a while during training today. Cassandra had been able to perfectly predict where the next arrow would land just by watching the Tributes pull back the string. Of course, when Jake had actually convinced her to give it a go, the shots had gone all over the place, and they had become a laughing stock once again. Jake had even seen Ezekiel snickering from the corner, the asshole. 

“And how am I supposed to show that off, exactly? Besides, you know what happens when there’s no one to bring me out of it.”

If it had been possible to volunteer to go into the testing with Cassandra, just to comfort her or something, Jake would have volunteered in a heartbeat. Apparently, all she needed was for someone to talk to her, and Jake would have done that any day. Unfortunately, Eve had already confirmed what the guards had told all the Tributes earlier. Everyone was to go into their private training session alone.

“You’ve gotten pretty good at the first aid table, right? Maybe you could do a demonstration.” Eve suggested. 

Despite all his frustration, Jake did realize what an impossible situation Eve was in. She had two near-useless Tributes that weren’t going to survive the bloodbath. The fact that she was still trying to counsel them was kind of a miracle.

The one blessing in all this, Jake supposed, was that at least he and Cassandra would never have to think about killing each other.

 

In the end, Cassandra ended up getting one point higher than him (Jake would remember the disparaging “thank you” for the rest of his very short life). But they were a 3 and a 4, so the chances of them being considered threats were slim to none. Ezekiel had gotten a 7 somehow, the highest of any of the non-Careers. Jake presumed he had stolen something, although he couldn’t quite fathom how he could steal from any of the judges without being summarily executed. Maybe a guard or something.

 

Their outfits for the parade, at least, are slightly less embarrassing. Their stylist had decided to go with a wing theme, apparently based off someone named Hermes. Cassandra had meekly asked if that was a Capitol fashion designer, but that had set both Cassandra and their stylist off on a very long discussion of Greek mythology, which Jake had to tune out after 45 minutes. He briefly wished that his lessons in school had gone more in depth about ancient societies, because they both sounded very excited. Unfortunately, his history teacher in school had been much more concerned about getting to the founding of the Districts and betrayal of the Capitol by District 13.

Their chariot was apparently also modeled after Hermes’ chariot, painted so that the sides looked like carvings. Whoever had done it actually had some skill, Jake could tell. He and Cassandra started discussing the art excitedly with each other, her sharing the meaning of some of the scenes depicted, while he pointed out the different techniques that made it look like it came from a different era. Jake was just starting to tell her about the art book his teacher had given him when he was 12, which was his favorite book until his father had spilled a beer all over it, when the horses started to move.

Their conversation died down as the noise around them grew. They could hear the crowd before seeing them, the sound rushing through the open doors that the first few Districts had already paraded through. The beat of their horses’ hooves was slowly drowned out by screaming.

Cassandra closed her eyes as their chariot entered the arena, and Jake found himself grabbing her hand. Maybe he needed the comfort too. 

The sound from the thousands of the people grew impossibly louder, and Jake could see light reflecting off the cameras that were trained on them from seemingly every direction. There was nowhere he could look where someone else wouldn’t be looking back. 

The chariots pulled up into a semicircle in front of the main stage, and Jake was again struck by the ridiculousness of this entire ceremony. 

“Eve said that some of these people have been waiting for six hours to get these seats.” Cassandra’s voice was quiet beside him. She was staring at the ground, trying desperately to ignore everything that was happening around them.

Jake was happy for the distraction. And he would take every opportunity to make fun of the idiots in the Capitol. “All for a fifteen minute ceremony. Makes you wonder if they don’t have anything better to do.”

Cassandra shrugged, and Jake could feel the pull on his arm from it. He was glad for the continued contact, his hand gripped in Cassandra’s like a rock. “I hear a lot of the people in the Capitol don’t have jobs. Or not jobs like we’d consider them.”

Right. Like stylists. Or whatever culture bloggers were (a career mentioned by a District 1 Tribute at the lunch table next to them the other day). 

Jake spotted the chariot from District 3. Their chariot was covered with an array of LEDs, artfully arranged and all flashing in a different pattern. It looked pretty cool, if Jake could set aside his immediate distaste for one of their Tributes.

Speaking of which, he strained to see their outfits. They didn’t look like anything too interesting, although he could see Ezekiel wearing goggles of some sort. For the first time, Jake took notice of the other District 3 Tribute. She was one of the younger kids, maybe thirteen. Ezekiel was pointing out people in the crowd to her. It looked like he was making jokes - he could see the other Tribute’s smile.

It was kind of endearing, for the brief moment before the official speeches started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The saddest thing in this fic is actually Jake Stone, professor extraordinaire, not having adequate history education  
> (You might think i’m joking but i upset myself)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The interviews reveal quite a few things about all our Tributes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahem OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY. I've got some excuses for why this took forever (starting with a poorly considered stint in part-time graduate school), but anyway here's a chapter and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS oh my god you're all so good????

The last day of pre-Games activities was also the most important. The interviews were the most-watched event besides the Games themselves. Jake had always assumed, darkly, that the reason so many people were enamoured with the televised talks was so that they could pick their favorites, and set up the sad storylines that the Capitol commenters liked to develop - the hometown hero, the sad orphan, the overbearing Career who almost always won anyways.

Jake knew he was supposed to be charming and likeable, because this was their last chance to get sponsors. But did that even matter? His chances of surviving the first five minutes of the Cornucopia were almost nil, so whether or not some mother of three in District 5 liked him was almost irrelevant. 

The rest of District 6 mostly agreed with this sentiment. They were ranked one of the Districts least likely to send gifts into the arena, along with the poorest Districts like 11 and 12. 

Still, Eve was trying her best to find some sort of narrative to work with.

“There’s not a girl back home you can talk about, Stone?” 

He shook his head no.

“You don’t have to actually say you dated her, just that you were in love with her for years or something.”

“Won’t they know I’m lying?” Jake asked. 

“You think anyone from the Capitol is going to go venture out into the Districts while the Games are happening just to track down some lover of one of the Tributes?” Eve sighed. “So there’s really no girl? At all?”

“I can’t think of anybody.” Jake had liked his friends, but with everything that was wrong with his parents, he hadn’t paid much attention to dating or even talking to the girls from school.

“A boy?” Eve suggested, at the end of her rope.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Would they like that?” 

Eve shrugged. “In the Capitol? Maybe. It would at least make you interesting. In the Districts? Harder to tell.” She sighed again. “Listen, just talk about your parents or something. Play up the good ol’ boy angle. And try not to curse or anything.”

Now they both turned their attention to Cassandra, who had been sitting demurely on the other side of Jake while they had deliberated.

“You have a plan, love?” Eve asked her softly. When had Eve started being nice to Cassandra? Why hadn’t she decided to extend that same courtesy to  _ him? _

“Tell the truth.” 

Eve and Jake both raised their eyebrows at this, exchanging befuddled looks. Cassandra didn’t look particularly inclined to share more, but suddenly…

“I volunteered. And everyone knows I volunteered, it’s been on all the news networks by now. And how often do people volunteer from District 6, really?” All the words came out in a deluge, like Cassandra had been trying to hold them back this entire time. “They might as well know that I’m dying.”

Every rushing thought in Jake’s head, all the anxiety that had been his constant companion since the reaping, came to a halt. 

“What do you mean? Dying?” His voice sounded raspy even to him.

“I have a tumour.” Cassandra spoke slower now, softer. She wasn’t meeting either of their eyes. “I’ve known about it for a while now, but...well, I was just thinking. When that little girl was reaped, I didn’t want to see her die if I could instead, you know? Just get it over with.”

Jake reached out his hand, covering his fellow Tribute’s smaller fingers with his own. Eve hadn’t said anything, but she was staring at Cassandra with such affection and sadness in his eyes that Jake couldn’t look at her. 

“Cassie, I’m…” He was lost for words. There was absolutely nothing he could do to make this situation any better for any of them, but the thought that the girl he wanted to keep alive for as long as he could had already given up was even more terrifying than his own impending death. “I’m so sorry.” 

They sat in that quiet, contemplative circle until a guard came in to escort them to their interviews. Jake watched as Eve put on her carefully composed and detached expression and tried to mirror her the best he could. 

 

The interview host this year wasn’t the one that Jake remembered from the previous years, when he had seen bits and snippets of the pre-Games interviews. Most of what he remembered from the broadcasts were the sneering Careers boasting about all the ways they’re going to kill their competition, and the terrified faces of the youngest Tributes, never quite able to lose the panic in their eyes.

The guards sat all the Tributes in one room together backstage, retrieving them one by one. Jake ended up blocking out most of the process, staring at the ground until a guard laid a hand on his shoulder. Cassandra gave him a smile, heading to the seat beside him as he stood up. He hadn’t even noticed her leave. 

Jake tried to swallow his rising anxiety as he walked through a dark hallway. The guard was still right next to him, so he knew he wouldn’t be able to slow down or stop for a moment and try to breathe. 

Before he could even think, there were bright lights on his face and a chair in front of him. He sat down slowly, trying to blink away the sudden blindness. Slowly, the host came into focus, sitting in another chair angled towards his. There was a murmur from somewhere beyond the lights, and Jake realized that must be where the audience was sitting. 

It was a good thing he couldn’t see them. There was no more room in his body for anxiety.

“Alright, son. Let’s get started.” Jake turned his head, to see the host was now looking at him expectantly. “Your name is Jacob Stone, correct?”

Jake tried to open his mouth, but it felt incredibly dry. He settled for a nod. 

“And let’s see...you’re 17?”

He nodded again. The host seemed to be reading off a screen over Jake’s shoulder. He tried to get a look out of the corner of his eye.

“Wow, so close to being an adult. Do you think your size is going to help you at all?”

The host wasn’t wrong, Jake was fairly muscular from the odd jobs he had picked up around Urbana. But in the arena? Definitely not. He shook his head, thinking of the scraps he used to get into at school (not to mention at home).

“Ah, I see. Not a vicious one, folks!” The crowd didn’t have much of a reaction to that, and the host moved on quickly. He definitely wasn’t going to be one of the more memorable interviewees this year. “Are you more of a family man?” The host leaned forward in his seat.

Remembering what Eve said (and swallowing his disgust at somehow being a ‘man’, despite not being an adult), Jake nodded. 

“Tell me about your family then! Who is going to be cheering for you in the Games?”

Well, no one probably. His mom had barely managed to get out of bed to see him off. Who knows how much worse she had gotten with only his father there to take care of her. But since this was a show, he could play the part. Unfortunately, this question required more than a head nod. 

“My father and mother. I don’t have any siblings, so it’s just us.” He paused, hoping the host would say something else. But apparently he was hoping for more out of the answer, so Jake kept going. “I’m very close with my mom. She’s been sick the last few years, so I’ve been helping out more.”

There was some applause from the audience at that, making Jake jump. He had kind of forgotten they were there. 

“That’s very brave of you. Will you be fighting for her in the arena?”

It was a leading question, and there was an obvious right answer. It was the answer that would make the crowd admire him and his loyalty to his family. But was it true? Was he really fighting to come home to a father who disliked him and a mother who had stayed for too long? Would he even fight at all?

“Of course.” Jake said, putting on a confident smile. 

 

Later on, Eve, Cassandra, and Jake gathered in the District 6 quarters to watch the rest of the interviews. Neither Cassandra nor Jake seemed particularly interested in seeing them, but Eve insisted that they needed to know as much as they could about their competitors before they entered the arena. 

Walter had stopped in to offer them words of good luck, but he had disappeared off to his room to sleep. Nobody tried to stop him. 

The interviews progressed in District order, starting with the absolutely insufferable Tributes from Districts 1 and 2. Both of the boys were hulking beasts, probably at the top age for qualification into the Games. The girl from District 2 was interesting, seeming much less muscled than the female Tribute from District 1 (and most Careers). Instead, she had an intense, lithe look, staring out at the crowd without a trace of fear, or excitement, or any other emotion besides pure confidence. Lamia was her name. Jake committed it to memory.

Ezekiel was the next up, and Jake felt his eyes start to roll before the District 3 Tribute’s name was even announced. Cassandra noticed and elbowed him in the side, which only made him roll his eyes more.

After the host called his name, Ezekiel strolled onto the stage as naturally as one would stroll into a store looking for some apples. He shook hands with the host jovially, gives a quick friendly wave to the audience, and sits back in the Tributes’ chair, looking almost excited.

Of course Ezekiel was excited. He was going to get to talk about himself. 

“So, Ezekiel Jones, correct?”

“I can’t deny it. Glad you’ve heard the name.”

“Should I have?”

“Well, I’m only the greatest thief in all of District 3. And I have to say, the world as well.” Ezekiel grinned lazily. 

The host smiled, clearly excited that someone was going to be an interesting interview subject today. Jake internally cringed at the idea of rewatching his own performance. “So how does one become a ‘master thief’, Mr. Jones?”

Did he give the host a script or something? God.

“Hey, you start out like anyone else does, but you’re faster and smarter than any of your compatriots. And then eventually, you’re the best.”

It’s the cockiest answer Jake could remember hearing from any one of the interviews they watched that night (at least, from a non-Career). Cassandra snorting besides him only served to increase his annoyance. 

“Did you have a mentor to teach you the ropes?”

“Nope!” Ezekiel’s grin had somehow gotten wider. “If you’re going to be the best, you can’t learn from the second best, right? I’m all self-taught.” He flashed a smile to the audience. The camera switched to an audience view. There were a few pretty women in the front row, who...yep, were eating it right up.

Jesus, to not only accept the weird interest that many capitol citizens had with the Tributes, but to encourage it? What was wrong with him?

“What’s your strategy then?”

“For thieving?”

“No, for winning!” 

This got a slight laugh out of the audience, but Jake saw Ezekiel’s brief flash of confusion, before the calm mask settled down again.

“Starve ‘em out.” Ezekiel said. “No one can survive without supplies. And if I can steal them, then I’ll have people depending on me. And protection.”

“So you like your odds?”

“Believe me, if I’m not the last one standing, my name’s not Ezekiel Jones.” 

Ezekiel’s smile only grows bigger when the audience cheers. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like the Nickelback song ‘No Matter What’ from episode 33 of Yu-Gi-Oh says: "let the games begin".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who commented - you're all amazing and wonderful and I love??? you???

Saying goodbye to Eve was harder than Jake had ever imagined. From the very beginning, it had been pretty clear that both he and Cassandra were doomed, but Eve had done her best to give them every bit of help that she could (even if the whole thing about the scent of fudge still didn’t make any sense). She still took the time to talk them through the Games, recommend training stations, and evaluated the other Tributes with them. 

And, more importantly, she was kind. That was all Jake really wanted at this point.

Eve hugged them both goodbye in the District 6 quarters. She was coming with them to the Launch Rooms, but she wouldn’t be allowed to show that kind of affection right before the Games. That kind of thing was apparently frowned on in the Capitol.

The hug was nice. It was really nice, and Jake kind of wished he’d hugged Cassandra goodbye, too. But by the time the thought had crossed his mind, the door to their quarters had already shut behind them. So that was that. 

Surprisingly, Walter also came with them. He actually seemed somewhat emotional when he left them, choosing a seemingly arbitrary turn to stop and bid farewell. Walter clapped Jake on the shoulder and gave Cassandra a warm smile before turning to go. Maybe he had just seen too many Tributes die at this point. Jake felt a little bad that he had never even tried to get to know their other Mentor.

Eve and Cassandra left Jake right outside of his Launch Room. They both waved goodbye at him, and he watched them walk down the hall. Cassandra looked back over her shoulder right before they rounded a turn. The two Tributes nodded at each other, and Jake felt something in his gut twist. And then he was alone. 

 

The room was dark and cold, sterile. There was a water bottle and a granola bar sitting on one of the benches, and Jake devoured both while taking the rest of the room in. A soldier stood in the far corner, but after their unwavering presence everywhere in the Training Center, Jake didn’t even stop to nod hello. The rest of the room was bare. There were lockers on the wall, suggesting some use for this room when it wasn’t being used for the Games. Were there people in the Capitol who trained in the arenas after the Games finished? Was there some sort of tour company?

Probably, Jake thought with a kind of resigned disgust. 

But still. It struck him that this was his last view of normalcy. His last view of a world that wasn’t the Arena, and whatever horrible traps and fate awaited him there. That thought almost made the simple, impersonal room seem beautiful to him. And, as the soldier ushered him onto the pad, he tried to capture the image in his memory, cataloging every detail to take with him. One last shred of the outside world.

But the pads started rising, and every other thought left his mind. The Games were about to begin. 

 

From repeated warnings, Jake knew that he couldn’t step off the pad before 60 seconds had passed. He also knew that as soon as the mines deactivated, he was going to run away. After taking a brief glance at the Cornucopia, he turned around to get ready. It wasn’t much to see anyway: a brown structure holding a lot of supplies and (soon) dead bodies. Looking to his side, he could see Cassandra had done the same.

They had briefly promised that they’d stay together as long as they could. Jake hoped that was true. 

He took a few seconds to look around at the other Tributes. Most seemed primed to run to the Cornucopia. Jake spotted Cindy, who looked utterly terrified, facing away from the Cornucopia. All of the Careers were ready to run straight for the supplies, and several from the other Districts seemed eager to fight them for it. 

He finally spotted Ezekiel, who was standing casually on his pad with his hands in his pockets, looking bored out of his mind.

Jake rolled his eyes, but focused back on his mission. Get away. Get away as quickly as possible.

A gunshot rang out, and Jake launched off the pad.

 

The trees were a whirl of green and brown in his vision. Jake didn’t slow down to take a look at what kind of trees they were. From what he’d seen in the Cornucopia, the arena looked like a large forest, with a river running right through the Cornucopia. The direction he’d picked wasn’t along the river though, instead being a straight shot away. Some part of his mind said he should be worried about water sources, but most of Jake’s energy was focused on not tripping.

Branch, log, boulder. Everything could be jumped over. And Jake did just that, until his breath finally caught up to him. He slowed to a walk, suddenly noticing how much his legs were hurting. How long had he been running? The hills were killing him. No place in District 6 had this much altitude. If he could have gone back to the Training Center, Jake would have signed up for uphill sprinting practice. 

Listening intently for any sign of another living being, Jake stopped to look around. There wasn’t anything special about this particular part of the forest, and there didn’t seem to be any major landmarks nearby. Notably, he couldn’t hear the sound of any streams. The part of his brain concerned with his chances of survival started nagging him. The river went through the Cornucopia, sure, but how far did it stretch in either direction? If he waited and stayed far enough away from the center, he could probably manage to get a drink.

Wait. Where was Cassandra?

Jake circled around, trying to get a glimpse of red hair. They’d been running in the same direction, hadn’t they? Although...Jake was running pretty fast. He hadn’t been paying attention to anything else after the gunshot. 

She had been on the pad to his right, and if she took off directly away from the Cornucopia like he did…

Jake started walking. 

 

An hour later (although being in the middle of the forest, the ‘hour’ was just a guess), Jake felt like he had wandered a fairly good part of the terrain. He hadn’t found a water source, but the soil was getting softer and the foliage larger, so he hoped that if he kept walking in the same direction he might find something. 

More importantly, he hadn’t found any sign of Cassandra. Luckily, he also hadn’t found anyone else. 

Ok, water and food. Jake walked a little farther. Was that…?

The stream looked clear and beautiful, and Jake completely forgot all advice he’d received about water purification as he scooped a handful to his mouth. It tasted divine, and he decided that even if it was poisoned, it was worth it. The running really had done a number to him. 

And next to streams, sometimes, there was food. Jake looked along the riverbed. There were a couple of green plants growing close to the ground. Just as he was reaching out to examine one of the leaves, he heard a voice.

“Don’t touch that!”

Jake’s heart leapt into his chest before he managed to register the voice. Immediately, he relaxed, feeling a rush of relief he didn’t think he was capable of.

“Cass.” He didn’t even think about boundaries or how long they’d known each other, stepping forward and enveloping Cassandra in a long hug. And they stayed like that, breathing in the feeling of being together and alive, far too long for anyone in their predicament. But neither of them could bother feeling unsafe now. 

When they finally pulled back from each other, Jake could see a few tears in his fellow Tribute’s eyes. But she wiped them away quickly before chastising him: “Don’t you recognize that plant? They told us several times that it was poisonous.”

Jake shrugged, staring at the offending greenery. “I honestly didn’t think about it.”

Cassandra chuckled at him. “Guess you should be glad I’m here.”

“Of course I am. Hope the water isn’t too bad for me, either. I just drank...a lot of it.”

To his surprise, Cassandra shook her head confidently. “Even if it was, it would probably take a week or more to catch up with you.” At his curious look, she continued. “There might be bacteria, but they’re probably not going to kill you.”

“Well. That’s good I guess.”

They both took their time drinking more water, and checking out the other plants on the shore. Cassandra deemed a few nuts safe to eat, so they managed to get a few each (with Jake tucking more away for later). 

“So.” Jake said, regarding his companion, who had been watching the forest while he was securing their food. “What do we do now?”


End file.
